Water

Image: California Department of Water Resources

The vulnerability of the water sector to climate change is due to changing hydrologic processes that affect the frequency, magnitude, and duration of extreme events, which in turn affect water quantity, quality, and infrastructure. It has been shown that California’s hydrology is already changing due to global climate shifts. Changes in hydrology include declining snowpack, earlier snow melt, more precipitation as rain than snow, more frequent and longer droughts, more frequent and more severe flooding, changes in the timing and volume of peak runoff, and consequent impacts on water quality and water availability.[1] Anticipated and observed vulnerabilities of critical water resources include changing water supplies, land subsidence, increased water pollution, erosion, flooding, and related risks to water infrastructure and operations, degradation of watersheds, alteration of ecosystems and loss of habitat, multiple impacts in coastal areas, and ocean acidification.

California is preparing for and addressing impacts of climate change comprehensively across all components of the water cycle, from protecting and restoring upper watersheds, to resource recovery from wastewater (renewable energy, nutrients, and water). One area of focus is supporting regional groundwater management for drought resiliency, which requires the formation of sustainability plans and coordination with other flood and water management plans. Other priority action areas include diversifying local water supply portfolios, maximizing water conservation and water use efficiency, and improving storm water management for groundwater recharge. Communities must identify priorities and goals around conservation, efficiency, and alternative sources that are commensurate with their local needs and goals. Finally, many disadvantaged communities already have problems securing safe water and sanitation, and they are unlikely to have the capacity to deal with additional challenges to water quality and availability in the face of climate change. Prioritizing aid and planning for these communities is critical for public health and the overall well-being of California’s communities.

Office of the State Climatologist of California. 2016

The Hydroclimate Report Water Year 2016 updates the 2015 report with data from Water Year 2016. This report includes key indicators for hydrology and climate in California and is updated annually with the newest available data to track … important trends, provide a compilation of indicators, and provide graphical visualization of data trends that are of interest to water managers, the media, State government, and the research community. The report provides information on annual precipitation, annual air temperature, snowpack, rain and snow trends, sea levels and more.

California Natural Resources Agency. 2016

Drought

Plan or strategy

The California Water Action Plan – originally released by the administration of Governor Brown in January 2014 – is a roadmap for the first five years of the state’s journey toward sustainable water management. The 2016 update reflects … both considerable progress toward and reaffirmation of the goals first set forth in January 2014. The Brown Administration has used this Water Action Plan as the roadmap to put California on a path to sustainable water management. It provided the foundation for Proposition 1, the 2014 water bond, and the administration’s legislative agenda.

California Department of Water Resources. 2018

DroughtSnowpack

Data, tools, and research

Bulletin 118 is California’s official compendium on the occurrence and nature of groundwater statewide. Bulletin 118 defines the boundaries and describes the hydrologic characteristics of California’s groundwater basins. Bulletin 118 also provides … information on groundwater management and recommendations for the future.

California Department of Water Resources. 2016

DroughtSnowpack

AssessmentPlanning and policy guidance

This 2016 Drought Contingency Plan for the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) water operations from February to November 2016 includes a quantitative analysis of modeled hydrology for 2016 including 50%, 90%, and … 99 % exceedance scenarios based on the January 1, 2016 hydrologic scenarios and potential operations based on these analyses. This plan aids in quantifying the magnitude of available reservoir water resources under various hydrologic scenarios. The primary goals of the plan are to achieve a balance between reservoir storage for water supply and resource conservation, meet essential human health and safety needs, manage the intrusion of salt water into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and provide and maintain adequate protections for State and Federal endangered and threatened species and other fish and wildlife resources.

City of Atascadero. 2014

Extreme stormsTemperatureWildfire

Plan or strategy

Chapter 4 of the 2014 City of Atascadero Climate Action Plan includes adaptation measures such as collaboration between agencies, the creation of policies, water conservation, and assessing climate impacts for temperature, extreme storms, wildfire.

California Department of Water Resources. 2011

DroughtSnowpack

Planning and policy guidance

The Climate Change Handbook for Regional Water Planning provides a framework for considering climate change in water management planning. Key decision considerations, resources, tools, and decision options are presented that can guide resource … managers and planners as they develop means of adapting their programs to a changing climate. The handbook uses DWR's Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) planning framework as a model into which analysis of climate change impacts and planning for adaptation and mitigation can be integrated. A useful resource in this handbook is the Vulnerability Assessment Checklist found in Appendix B.

Department of Water Resources. 2016

Drought

Planning and policy guidance

DWR published best management practices and selected guidance documents in December 2016 to help groundwater sustainability agencies and other stakeholders develop groundwater sustainability plans. These documents will be updated periodically … as better information becomes available.

California Natural Resources Agency. 2018

Drought

Project or Example

California state agencies collaborated to compile each of these examples, associated with Safeguarding California's 2018 update, to show how California is preparing for and adjusting to various extreme events brought on by climate change. … Each of these examples highlights unique strategies, funded by the state, to combat and adapt to the effects of climate change. The examples are tagged with icons from the Safeguarding California Report, classifying stories by sector. In this example, water efficiency was improved in Madera County, to ultimately conserve landscape irrigation water and build resilience to drought and water scarcity.

California Natural Resources Agency. 2018

FloodingSea level rise

Project or Example

California state agencies collaborated to compile each of these examples, associated with Safeguarding California's 2018 update, to show how California is preparing for and adjusting to various extreme events brought on by climate change. … Each of these examples highlights unique strategies, funded by the state, to combat and adapt to the effects of climate change. The examples are tagged with icons from the Safeguarding California Report, classifying stories by sector. This example highlights the Adapting to Rising Tides (ART) Program, a collaborative sea level rise adaptation planning program building local and regional capacity in the San Francisco Bay area to plan for and implement adaptation responses.